Tobacco-treating machine



Feb. 27, 1923.

H. GUTMAN. TOBACCO TREATING MACHINE.

FILED NOV, 26, 1920.

I. II B whlllilllh w Z ATE/s Patented Feb. 27, 1923. f

' 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

HARRY- .GU'IMAN, or our A K, ILLINOIS.

TOBACCO-TREATING MACHINE.

Application filed November 26, 1920. Serial No. 426,478.

To (5Z6 whom it may concern: Be it known that I, I'IARRY GUTMAN, a citizen of the United States,-and a resident of Oak Park, inlthe county of Cook and 5 State of Illinois, have invented a new and leaf, thereby leaving glowing particles which project beyond the end of the consumed portion of the cigar, and are apt to-fall on the smoker-s clothing. Furthermore, the stems or midribs, if wrapped up in a cigar, form unsightly hard strips'when'they happen to lie near the surface. These and other'reasons have compelled manufacturers of tobacco 'her'etoforefto remove them prior to their further use'in making up tobacco for the trade. The removalof the stems and midribs of course necessitates machines for the purpose, and: also operatorsxto run them. Considerable time 'isconsumed inthe operthe leaf. 1 v I g An object of my invention is to provide a process of treating tobacco, whereby the nece'ssity for removing-the stemsand midribs of the leaves prior to their further use in manufacturing cigars, smoking tobacco, and the like, is obviated, thuseflecting a considerable saving, not only i'n the costofmanuficturing the article, but also in time saved in the operation. j 1

A further object of my invention is to provide a process by meansof which the stems and midribs are crusheds'o as to spread them out 'to'a thickness equal to that of the main body portion ofthe leaf, spreading apart the fibers of which the stems and midribs are burn moreslowly thanthe remainder of the ation, and it necessarily results in splitting composed, so as to bring them into a comparatively loose state, in which they will burn at substantially mainder of the leaf. e a

A furtherobject of my inventionis to pro vide, a process of treating tobacco, in which the stems and midribs hitherto considered as waste products may be utilized.

A further object ofmy invention is toprovlde afdevice by means of which the stems andemidribs of the leaves are crushed,,as described, without afiecting the body portion of the-leaf. Y

A further object of -my invention isto; provide a machine of the type described tor treating tobacco, having crushing rollers. .which may be adjusted toinsure the crush.-

the same rate as the re- 1 ing of the stems and. midribs, while leaving" the bodyv portionfof theleaves-intact. 1

' Other objects, and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel 7 7 features of the invention will be particularly pointed o'utin the appended claims.

My inventionis illustrated in the 'accompanying drawings, forming part of -this' ap- 1 plication, in whichvice, Y I

F gure 2 is a view of the opposite'side, F1gure31saplanv1ew,

Figure :4 1s a" sectional-view ota-portion of a portion any suitable base, such'asthe legs5. Mount- "ed onlthebaseis a frame having a bottom portion 6 to which'are secured side portions -7 preferably made of sheet metal. The-side portions 7 are integral with a flattop plate 8 which extends beyond the side portions, .as'

show in the drawing, and which is'bent downwardly at 9 to constitute an end por- 5- tion 10, the lower end of the portion. 10 beingsecured to the bottom 'fi. Theplate 8.con-

stitutes a table and is provided with an opening 11 (see Figure 3), and is stamped or otherwise provided with a groove 12, ofthe shape shown in Figure 3, disposed along the central axis of the table contiguous tothe opening 11. As will beseen from Figures,

Figure lis a view of one side of the,

that portion of the top plate 8 which forms one edge of the opening 11 is beveled to form a stripping blade 13. Adjacent to one end of the device is secured a delivery plate Carried by the bottom portion 6 are uprights 15, in which is journaled a lower shaft 16 extending transversely of the device. One end of this shaft is provided with a pulley driven by a belt 18. This shaft 16 bears a gear 19 which is in mesh with a gear 20 on the shaft 21. The latter shaft is disposed transversely of the device in the same vertical plane with the shaft 16. Bearing sleeves 22- are disposed in slots 23 in the uprights 15, these sleeves being vertically slidable in the slots. Secured to the lower shaft 16 is a crusher wheel 2 1, which extends to the upper edge of the opening 11, where it is in normal contact with a companion wheel 25, disposed on the upper shaft 21. The bearing sleeves 22 are held normally in a lower position, so as to permit the crusher wheel 25 totouch the crusher wheel 24-, when there is nothing between them. As will be seen from Figures 4 and 5, the side uprights 15 have rods 26 extending upwardly through the bottom of a spring housing 27, which contains a spiral spring 28. The latter bears at its upper end on a. washer 29 which is held by a nut 30 on the threaded end of the member 26. Secured to the bottom of the spring housing are downwardly extending shoes 81 which engage the bearing bushings.

As will be seen from Figure 3, there is one of these spring housings 27 on each side of the upper crusher wheel 25. Secured to the uprights 15 is a frame 32 which bears a stripping member 33, whose end is disposed in close engagement with the upper crusher wheel25.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device/the operation thereof may be readily understood. The apparatus is set in motion, and the leaves. are fed between the crusher wheels, the midribs and stems passing along the groove 12 and between the crusher wheels. The upper crusher wheel is held by a spring tension which is regulated o as to cause the wheels to crush the midribs and the stems, thus breaking apart the fibers, mashing the fibers to the thinness of the body portion of the leaf, but not crushing the body portion itself. The leaf will either adhere to the upper or lower crusher wheel. Should it adhere to the lower crusher wheel, it is stripped therefrom by the tripping edge 13, whereas if it adheres to the upper crusher wheel, it is stripped therefrom by means of the stripper 33; In any event the leaf is stripped from the crusher wheel and depositedon the delivery plate 14. The leaf may now be used, as, for instance, for the purpose of providing a filler for cigars, and it will not have the defects which it might otherwise have were the leaf not treated by the present device. All portions of the treated leaf will burn at substantially the same rate, and the leaf will not have the hard tough vein-like portions, which render the tobacco unsightly when made up in certain forms, as, for instance, cigars.

In case the tension should be too great, so as to crush a portion of the leaf, as well as the stem and midrib, the tension may be decreased until such a point is reached that the pressure of the springs will cause the upper crusher wheel 25 to crush the stem and the midrib, without injury to the leaf itself.

It will be understood that the gears 19and 20 are always in mesh, but that the upper crusher wheel 25 moves slightly whenever a leaf is being passed through. This slight movement of course is also experienced by the gear 20, but it is notienough to cause the disengagement of the gears, the movement being comparatively slight. Y

By the use of my invention, 1 can save the time and expense of cutting out the stems and midribs of the leaves, and I really transform them so that they may be used with the rest of the stock.

I claim:

1. A tobacco treating machine, comprising a slotted support, a haft journaled in said support for revolution about a fixedaxis, a crusher wheel carried by said shaft, a' second shaft journalecl in slots in said support for movement toward and away from said first named shaft, spring means for normally forcing said second. named shaft towards saidfirst named shaft, a crusher wheel disposed on said second named shaft and arranged to engagesaid first named crusher wheel, means for adjusting the spring tension on aid second named shaft, 0. table having a central groove adjacent to. the normally contacting surfaces of the crusher wheels, and a leaf stripping member associated with each of said crusher wheels.

2. A tobacco treating machine, comprising a base, uprights carried thereby,feach of said uprights being slotted, a shaft j ournaled between said uprights, a lower crusher wheel carried by said shaft, a table having an opening, one edge of said opening being beveled to constitute a stripper, the surface of the lower crusher wheel extending flush with the upper edge of said opening, a second shaft, bearings therefor slidable in said,

slots, an upper crusher wheel carried by said econd named shaft, an extension carried. by each of said supports, a spring housing surrounding each of said extensions, integral extensions secured to saidv housing and arranged to engage, the bearings of saidisecond named shaft, a spring disposed in each spring housing, means for adjusting the ten- :1 central groove adjacent to the normally sion of each spring, and a leaf stripping contacting surfaces of the crusher WhBGIS'lO member associated with said upper crusher and extending at right angles thereto, said wheel. 7 table having an opening, one edge of the 3. A tobacco treatingmachine comprising opening being beveled to constitute a stripa base, uprights carried thereby, a pair of per, and asecond stripper carried by said shafts carried by said uprights, a crusher uprights. Wheel carried by each shaft, a table having HARRY GUTMAN. 

